Alaa Hamo1*
1 Directorate of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection in Damascus, Damascus, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Alaa Hamo, Email: alaasuliman@outlook.com, Phone: 0951850626).
Received: 14/12 /2025 Accepted: 26/03 /2026
Abstract:
The study aimed to estimate the price and expenditure elasticities of demand for the main types of meat in Damascus Governorate during 2025, using the Linear Approximate Almost Ideal Demand System (LA-AIDS), which is widely regarded as one of the most appropriate models for analyzing interrelated goods in environments characterized by severe economic fluctuations. The analysis relied on primary data collected through a household field survey employing a multistage random cluster sampling design to ensure adequate representation of different income groups within the study population. Unit values were used as proxies for prices due to the absence of detailed retail price data in the survey. The demand system was estimated using the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) method, while imposing the theoretical restrictions of adding-up, homogeneity, and symmetry in accordance with demand theory. The results indicate that poultry meat is a necessity good, with an expenditure elasticity of 0.61, whereas beef and lamb are luxury goods, with expenditure elasticities of 1.25 and 1.45, respectively. Estimates of own-price elasticities further reveal that the demand for poultry is relatively inelastic (−0.889), reflecting households’ strong reliance on it as a primary source of animal protein. In contrast, the demand for beef and lamb is more price-elastic (−1.144 and −1.401, respectively), making their consumption more sensitive to price changes. The results also show a positive substitutability relationship among the three meat types, whereby an increase in the price of any one type leads to higher demand for its substitutes, particularly the strong effect of poultry prices on red meat consumption. Demographic variables exhibit clear effects: household size is positively associated with a higher expenditure share on poultry, while higher education levels are associated with increased demand for beef. Overall, these findings reflect a demand structure strongly influenced by income constraints and rising prices, underscoring the importance of stabilizing poultry prices as the most central commodity for food security, as well as the need to improve the production environment of red meat in order to reduce costs and enhance market stability.
Keywords: Demand Elasticities; LA-AIDS Model; Meats; Prices; Consumer Behavio.
Full paper in Arabic: PDF